I just finished reading The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen. Honestly I picked up the book because I was attracted to the title and book cover. I always get excited about stories that have to do with one of my favorite sports and hobbies, running. But you don't have to be a runner to enjoy this one. The Running Dream is about a young high school girl who is a great track athlete, until she is in a tragic bus accident and ends up losing her leg as well as her future dreams. The story begins with her waking up in the hospital and realizing what has happened. I think the School Library Journal review of this book really sums it up nicely.
Jessica has run her personal best at a track meet-then there's a tragic bus accident and the high school junior loses her leg as well as her future dreams. From waking up in the hospital and coping with the trauma, to her return home, then school, she tries to grab her life back. On one level the story offers inspiration to those dealing with physical changes in their own lives and the stages of recovery, fight, survival, and victory as Jessica reaches deep to push past her wall of self-pity and loathing, and moves beyond the "finish line." On a deeper level, there is her blind discrimination toward a fellow classmate who has cerebral palsy. Rosa is hard to understand and easy to ignore. She is anchored to a wheelchair. Jessica, encumbered by her crutches and her tender "stump," is seated in the back of the class, out of the way, next to Rosa. She learns that the girl is smart, wise, and friendly. They pass notes and share lunch. Rosa writes, "I wish people would see me and not my condition." When Jessica is running again-on a specially engineered prosthesis-she challenges herself to help her friend be seen. How Jessica orchestrates putting Rosa in the forefront of a community race and pushing her wheelchair across a finish line is a study in faith and determination. Readers will cheer for Jessica's recovery and be reminded to recognize people for their strengths and not overlook them because of their disabilities -Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY (c) Copyright 2010.
This was not the only book that I read this summer by the author Wendelin Van Draanen. Earlier in the summer I read Runaway and ran a teen book club through the local public library. It was a great book to have some meaty discussions with. While this was a very different type of book both stories have two very strong female characters with some strong messages for the readers. Both stories really are about keeping hope alive.
Readers wont look at homeless people in quite the same way after meeting Holly and seeing her through five long months on her own. An urban, female version of Gary Paulsens Hatchet (Macmillan, 1986), this novel chronicles the daily struggle for food, shelter, safety, and cleanliness that becomes the focus of life once a home and income are stripped away. Twelve-year-old Holly knows a lot about living on the streets, since she lived that life with her drug-addicted mother before the womans death from an overdose. She determines that it is preferable to continuing in her abusive foster home. A journal provided by a compassionate teacher is where she records her lonely and difficult struggle for survival. While the plot has the occasional convenience, readers will be drawn to the gripping details of both physical and emotional landmines hidden in the ordinariness of everyday life. This is a great book to hand-sell or booktalk to young teens who enjoy a dose of emotional trauma in their fiction or for reluctant readers who need suspense to keep them turning the pages. Van Draanen has shown great versatility in adding another dimension to her already respected body of work.–School Library Journal, Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL
I would recommend both of these books for children in grades 7 and up. They deal with very real and sensitive issues.
Wendelin Van Draanen is a prolific writer. She is also the author of the Sammy Keyes Mystery Series for middle grades, Shredderman, Gecko and Sticky, and other stand alone novels. One of my all time favorites is Flipped. Flipped was actually made into a motion picture a few years ago. Despite my feelings about books being made into movies, this one was very well done. For more information on this great Northern California author check out: http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/vandraanen.
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